1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to gloves for the human hand which are worn when playing sports such as baseball, softball, or working and the like. In one aspect, this invention relates to a batting glove specifically designed to improve grip, comfort, protection, and performance of a wearer. However, this invention has broader implications and may be advantageously employed in other applications requiring protection of the hands. More particularly, this invention relates to a batting glove which includes padding in selected areas to provide protection at the hook of the hamate during use by the wearer.
2. Description of Related Art
Glove construction for protection of the human hand is well known. In addition, there are a number of patents which teach gloves claimed to be particularly useful as batting gloves. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,175,226 teaches a dress glove construction which completely covers the fingers and which includes resiliently expandable materials in selected areas to accommodate hands of different sizes. In contrast, U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,122 teaches a protective glove which has a wrap around construction for a protective glove which leaves the thumb and fingers ends exposed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,609 teaches a protective glove which includes shock absorbing cells disposed at selected portions along the top of the glove. U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,980 teaches a hand glove with a polyurethane foam pad in the palm portion of the glove. Other references attempt to provide a sport glove for supporting and stabilizing the wrist and hand. Current gloves protect the bony prominence areas of the hand. Although hand protection from direct shocks and abrasions is found in gloves of the current art, what is needed is a batting glove which provides improved grip, comfort and performance by unloading bony prominences, unloading pulleys and tendons, and improving finger and knuckle motion of the hand of a wearer by providing preselected thicknesses of preselected materials specifically chosen to protect the wearer from injury from distributed shocks in hitting a ball with a bat, and the attendant risk of long-term injury to the aforementioned bones, ligaments, pulleys, tendons, etc., by repetitive swinging of bats and hitting of balls.
Also, hockey goaltender's blocker gloves for use, particularly in ice hockey and other sports which require the player to protect his arm from high flying objects, such as pucks or the like are well known. These blocker gloves are provided on the back or dorsal side of the hand with a blocker pad, usually of substantially rectangular shape which extends longitudinally of the glove covering the back of the hand as well as the forearm. These blocker pads are designed to control the reflective direction of a hockey puck which is directed towards the goal wherein the goaltender prevents the puck from entering the goal. The blocker pad generally has a thick leather skin at the facing thereof and has thereunder a plurality of layers of padding material. On the palmar side of the blocker glove is a stick glove portion designed to receive the thumb and fingers of the hand and to grip a hockey stick. However, there have been problems in the design of the palmar side of the blocker glove in providing protection against “stingers” and yet maintain flexibility of the fingers and rotational movement of the joints.